Thursday, November 26, 2009

As I sit here in the quiet, up before others are moving around or have arrived, I am taking some time to reflect on today. I love this quiet time in the morning before everything starts to get hectic. Especially today, a day set aside to give thanks for the blessings that we have. However, giving thanks shouldn't be restrained to one day or just remembered for one day. We should continually give thanks in all that we do.

For the past week or so, I have been putting something I'm thankful up daily as my status on Facebook. I have tried to expound on those things. Today I give thanks to God that both my husband and I are home for Thanksgiving rather than half way around the world like last year. I am thankful that both sets of parents live close enough to come down for the weekend. I rejoice that we are able to share the cooking responsibilities with parents and other relatives. I am thankful that my parents are coming for Thanksgiving since I haven't spent a Thanksgiving with them in 5 years. I give thanks that we are able to open our home to my husband's sailors that don't have a place to go for the holiday. I'm grateful for the weather that we've had ... even though it's been rainy and cloudy it hasn't been too cold. I give thanks that our preparations for our new arrival continue to go on pace. I can't believe how close it is getting to her arriving.

We give thanks in all situations. No matter what trials are going on in your life, there are always some small blessings to be thankful for. Sometimes it's hard to find those blessings, but if you search hard enough, they'll be there. I pray that you all have a wonderful day and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate :) God Bless.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

This has been a great weekend for finishing :). I finally finished DH's Christmas stocking ... it only took me 2 years and 2 months. Hopefully the next ones will go faster (since there were long stretches of time without stitching on the stocking. I had a lot of fun stitching it and am looking forward to the next one. I am going to wait to finish finish it until I at least get mine done as well so that I am doing more than one at a time (and there isn't a huge time in between finishes).

Design: "Gingerbread Stocking"

Designer: Joan Elliot (The Cross Stitcher - Aug 05)

Fabric: 14 ct White Aida

Thread: Recommended DMC, Kreinik and beads

I also finished my "whet your appetite" ornament for the Little House Ornament SAL. I plan on finishing this as a pillow ornament. It was a fun stitch and now I'm just waiting for the first ornament of LHN's new series to arrive since I believe it has been shipped.

Design: "Glory to God"

Designer: Little House Needleworks (JCS Ornament 08)

Fabric: Stash Linen (count and color unknown)

Threads: Recommended and DMC alternatives

I also finished my SWO pin to go with hubby's dolphins. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture before I took it into my LNS to get framed. So I will share a picture when I get it back. I haven't quite finished the next project, but am to the point where I'm working on the backstitch. This one won't be finished until I can personalize it with little one's information so it will probably be one of my first 2010 finishes. I plan on getting everything but the personalization done in the next few weeks. So here's my current progress on the Classic Winnie the Pooh sampler.

Since I finished up my other ornament, I was inspired to start another. I decided to start stitching Erica Michael's "Lights of Advent" from the 2006 JCS Ornament issue. This was as far as I got since I need to pick up the other DMC colors needed to stitch the ornament.

Since I didn't have the threads needed to finish, I spent the rest of this evening working on a wedding present (which I don't have any pictures to share of). I decided to put it on my scroll frame since I've taken the stocking off. So that's it for my stitching ... it feels good to get some of those long UFO finally finished. Hope you had a great Sunday!

Monday, November 16, 2009

I hadn't had a chance to post this before since I wanted to wait until my sister received it before I put it up. I finished the cross stitch a few weeks ago and finished it as a no-sew cube about a week and a half ago. I saw the kit at my LNS back in the spring and just knew that I need to stitch it for my sister. This is my first attempt at this kind of finish. I think it turned out fairly well and my sister loved it.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 91 years ago, the Armistice was signed ending WWI. That day became known as Armistice Day and in 1954, the US changed it to honor all Veterans and it was henceforth known as Veterans Day in the US (I believe it's still celebrated as Armistice Day in many other countries). This Veterans Day, I would like to take the opportunity to honor three Veterans that have had an impact in my life. I would like to honor my grandfathers for their service to this country.

The first is Grandpa Ray (my paternal grandfather). He served in WWII in the US Navy. He enlisted towards the end of the war and continued to serve for another few years after the war. Once he got out of the Navy he used the GI Bill to go to college and then went to work for an electric company. Unfortunately, I never knew him that well since he passed away when I was about four.

Grandpa Ray

The second is Grandpa Mac (my maternal grandfather). He was a little to young to enlist during WWII, but joined the army afterwards. I didn't realize this until I had called him to get his service dates, but he had gotten out for a year or so and then reenlisted. He served for over 20 years and retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant. They were stationed in places such as Greece, Iran, Taiwan and Germany.

Grandpa Mac Sampler I stitched for him

The final person I want to honor is Grandpa Fred (my paternal step-grandfather). He retired as a LtCol from the Army. He served with Gen Patton in WWII. I always loved hearing his stories from that time and from his time teaching at West Point. Fred would always greet you with a smile. I want to honor him today because this past Sunday we lost him, as we continue to lose the WWII veterans almost daily. RIP Fred ... you will be greatly missed.

Remember the fallen, those who have served and those who are serving today and every day. God Bless!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Well, I heard from Belinda and Pike that they received their PIF a few weeks ago. I haven't heard from Gaby yet, but hopefully she's received it. So without further ado, here are the ornaments that I stitched for my PIF:

The Angels are from Leisure Arts' Holidays Remembered (Christmas Remembered Book 5). They are stitched on random pieces of fabric that I had in my stash (I think one was probably a 28 ct and the other two were either 30 or 32 ct) with the recommended DMC threads.

I've also made some great progress on DH's stocking. I've just got a bit more backstitch in the bottom, then it's coming off the scroll frame in order to add the beads. That aspect doesn't seem as daunting anymore since I completed a small project with beads as a present for my sister. That was the one thing I was slightly worried about. So right now I'm going to make my goal to finish his stocking by the end of November and start on mine. I think I will wait to do the finishing until I complete at least my stocking. I will also have to pick out a stocking for the little one as well. I'm planning on sticking with the Joan Elliot stockings from the Cross Stitcher magazine.

I've been working on two other projects as well. The first is the birth sampler for the little one. She's gotten nicknames such as Peanut, Pooh Bear, Dinosaur and others. We decided to decorate the nursery with a Winnie the Pooh theme (the classic style). I was lucky to be able to find this birth sampler kit from Anchor. Here is my progress so far:

The other project I'm working on is going to be a wedding present for a good friend. Unfortunately it's a wedding we won't be able to attend since it's two days prior to my due date in another state. At this point, I don't think it will be finished prior to the wedding, but we'll see how it goes.

I was able to finish a project for my sister this past weekend but since it's going to be a present, no photos at this time. I'll post a picture after I give it to her (I don't think she reads this but just in case). I still have to finish it into it's final form, but should be able to complete that this week. Other than that, I've decided to join Vonna's LHN ornament of the month SAL. I am also planning to actually start my work on my Bride's Tree ornaments for the Bride's Tree SAL this month so I will start with the Nov ornament and have them complete by next Christmas.

I've been enjoying the fall weather around here. The rain has finally gone away and hopefully it will stay away through out this weekend. Hopefully it won't be as long until my next update (I just need to remember to take pictures so I can post them). Next time, I'll share some pieces that have been framed with you. God Bless and have a wonderful day!